


Dragon Season: The Last Dragon

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: Dragon Season [13]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Homecoming, Love, M/M, Mating Bond, Post-Alvarez Teikoku | Alvarez Empire Arc, Reunions, Soulmates, magical transformation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-01
Updated: 2019-10-01
Packaged: 2020-11-08 17:11:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,452
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20839091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: “I wanted to come home.” There was a faint echo to Natsu’s voice, the deepness of his dragon form lingering, but the words were soft and filled with longing and a question. Am I allowed to come home? For a moment, Gray couldn’t speak, his eyes burning as felt Natsu’s warmth in his arms, resting his chin against straggly pink hair that was in desperate need of a wash. He could feel the doubt seeping in, an uncertainty that spoke of long months of loneliness, reminding him of how uncertain they’d both been after their separation in the wake of Tartaros, and he pressed his lips to the top of Natsu’s head.“You can always come home, no matter what form you’re in.”





	Dragon Season: The Last Dragon

**Author's Note:**

> Written to celebrate FuckyeahGratsu reaching 500 followers on tumblr!

Gray had woken the night before, driven out of a wonderful dream of flying with his mate. A dream that he knew wasn’t really a dream, as the bond in the back of his mind that had been mostly quiet for weeks had come back to life, humming, flooded with Natsu’s warmth. With a promise and a thought. _I’m coming home._ It had left him unable to sleep for the rest of the night. Not that he was complaining because deep down, he had been starting to fear that something had happened to Natsu, or that he had decided not to come back. He was careful not to let that thought leak through the bond, although he knew that it would have coloured it, and he just hoped that Natsu wouldn’t make a fuss about that. Knowing that was a futile wish even as he thought it, Natsu had always fussed about him. And it was a thousand times worse now that he couldn’t be here all the time, or rather had chosen not to be, which Gray wanted to talk to him about when he arrived. Because now, with Natsu’s flames in the back of his mind, the warmth that he craved and missed in equal measure, he could finally admit to himself that he didn’t want to keep going like this.

He wanted Natsu, no matter what form he was taking now.

He had spent the rest of the night laid on the bed, remembering how he had first come to see Natsu in this room when the idiot had been too afraid to reach out and claim him as his mate. Where would they be now if he hadn’t come? Or if he had said no? He wasn’t sure that he wanted to know the answer, even as a small part of him wondered whether it would have been better for Natsu in the long run. After all, he would have had less reason to push himself during the war. _No._ As much as Gray had spent a long time blaming himself for what had happened, much to Natsu’s anger when he had dared voice his guilt and apologies once, he knew that it had almost been inevitable. It was who Natsu was. He had always thought that it was a fair trade if he had to sacrifice his magic, his life, his entire body to protect the Guild. And sure that had escalated beyond belief whenever Gray was involved, but the war had threatened all of them. And Gray had been right there with him during the fight with Acnologia. His body helping Lucy, while his heart and mind had been right there with Natsu, feeling his exhaustion, his pain.

His resolve.

He had encouraged him. Supported him, helping to bear the burden of the magic that the other Dragon-slayers had been sharing with him. And now he couldn’t help but wonder if it would have made a difference if he’d hesitated or argued against Natsu channeling that kind of power after everything he’d already gone through. Even though they’d both known that it was the only way to end it. It hadn’t made it any easier to feel Natsu coming undone and to be unable to do anything but be there in the bond, a dragon’s mate, but not a dragon.

Now it was time to be both. He had given Natsu the space and time he had needed, because honestly, they’d both needed it, neither of them ready for their new reality. He knew that the other Dragon-slayers had been unhappy with his decision to step back and let Natsu go, and things had been fraught between them for a while, and even now there were times that he could feel it in their interactions. But, as he rolled onto his back and stared up at the ceiling, noting a scorch mark leftover from where Natsu had been in season, he took a deep breath. It had been the right choice, as painful and lonely as it had been. But things were different now, they were both different, and yet the bond that was humming in the back of his mind, growing stronger as Natsu drew closer, was the same. An unshakeable truth that they had both been hiding from for far too long, but not any longer he promised. Reaching out and placing his hand on the wall, watching as a vein of ice crept up the wall to blossom in the middle of the scorch mark even as he reached out through the bond.

_It’s time to come home Natsu._

**

The night had passed slowly, and Gray had whiled away the hours by trying to come up with every argument that Natsu might try to use against him, and ways to counter them. And by the time sunlight started to creep through the bedroom window, he was exhausted. However, sleep was even more out of the question now, because Natsu was close. The warmth in the back of his mind now a roaring inferno, and so he had crawled out of bed and gone in search of food and coffee, realising as he did so that he needed to go shopping soon. Remembering with a faint smile how many times he had moaned at Natsu about the empty cupboards, never able to keep ahead of the Dragon-slayer’s bottomless stomach.

However, he couldn’t focus on food, the coffee doing nothing but make his mind race as he felt the warmth in the back of his mind climbing higher. _He’s coming. He’s coming. _It was a mantra, his entire body beginning to hum with the force of it, and it wasn’t long before he abandoned all pretence of routine. His breakfast, largely uneaten lying forgotten on the table, as instead, he took to pacing through Natsu’s house. His house now he supposed, as he had long since let the lease on his own place go, feeling an all too familiar pang as he glanced around the rooms that had changed very little since the Dragon-slayer had lived there, at the house that had never had the chance to be ‘their house’. At least not properly, although when they were together now, they would talk about it as though it was. Pretending. 

Dreaming of a future that could have been.

That should have been.

Even if he found the courage and the words to say what needed to be said today, it wouldn’t be theirs, not in the way that they had dreamed of, but it would be closer than what he had now, and perhaps that was enough. It had to be.

_Gray?_

It wasn’t so much his name that he heard through the bond, but an image. A feeling, and a warmth that would have overwhelmed him in the past, still unused to meaning that much to someone. To being so central to someone’s world, that for a fleeting second, it felt as though he was all there was. Now, it felt like coming home, and it gave him hope, as he all but dashed to the front door, almost tearing the front door of the hinges in his eagerness.

Outside was the most significant change. The once wild garden now carefully cleared, and the trees that had crept closer to the small house over the years had been cut back and piled up, creating a large clearing. The grass still flattened from Natsu’s visit, the edges charred from an unfortunate snort of laughter that had sent flames out of the Dragon-slayer’s nose. Today though Gray had eyes for none of that, already scanning the sky above as he stepped out onto the porch. _Natsu? Natsu, I’m here. _ He tried to pour his relief, his happiness, his longing and everything in between through the bond. Hating how something that had once been as natural as breathing, now felt like a struggle. But Natsu was there in the bond, his warmth curling around him, as warm and real as any hug the Dragon-slayer had ever given him. And he was coming, the trees shaking as a loud bellow filled the air, leaves whipping wildly in the face of a sudden, unnatural breeze.

And there he was.

Natsu would never match Igneel for size, but in Gray’s eyes at least he was a hundred times more… beautiful wasn’t the right word for it, although as he watched vermillion scales glistening in the early morning sunlight, he couldn’t help but think it, feeling rather than hearing the chuckle that echoed through the bond. _Magnificent,_ he thought through the bond, watching in awe as Natsu banked, much more neatly than last time, wings spread wide as he spiralled down into the clearing that Gray had created for him. The house creaked in protest under the backdraft, and the air which had been chilly with the promise of fall in the air immediately warmed. Becoming a balmy, summer day despite the oranges and reds spreading through the trees. For Gray, it was proof that Natsu was really here. He had craved this warmth, and he let it spread through him, even as he watched the Dragon settling onto the ground, tucking his wings back and craning his neck towards the Ice Mage with a soft croon that had Gray smiling and moving forward to greet him.

“Welcome home,” he murmured, knowing that Natsu could hear him no matter how quiet he was, reaching up to stroke the large snout. Natsu still smelled of cinnamon and campfires, but there was something deeper and earthier about it now, and it filled his nose as he reached up to press a kiss against the surprisingly soft scales, feeling the quiet noise that rumbled through Natsu in response. If he had still been human, Gray knew that he would be blushing, remembering how easy it had been to fluster the Dragon-slayer, especially at the beginning, and his smile turned sad.

A gentle nudge told him that Natsu had felt the dip in his mind, and he managed a smile. “I’ve missed you.” It was rawer and more honest than he’d intended, and he half expected Natsu to pull away as he had the last time they’d had this conversation when things were too raw and new. But then again, Natsu had always lived to surprise him, and his norm hadn’t changed that.

“I missed you too.” It was still Natsu’s voice, but deeper than it had been, a low rumble like that of volcano coming to life after a long time. It had been another change that had taken the Dragon-slayer a while to adapt to. And that first visit after his transformation and after he’d all but fled to try and adjust to what he had become had been mainly silent. The fact that he was talking and pushing his head against Gray. Just barely remembering the strength of his current form, was more than they’d had in a while, and Gray broke, flinging his arms around Natsu’s snout and clinging to him.

The bond between them was ablaze as they both tried to push months of feeling through at the same time, and Gray got to hear a dragon laugh-cry for the first time, echoing the sound as he buried his face against Natsu. Doing what he should have done when Natsu had first fallen from the time rift, injured and exhausted, and changed beyond recognition, but the Ice Mage had been frozen in place, caught between the overwhelming relief that the war was over and that they were alive. That Natsu was alive. And shock not just at what had happened, but having experienced it with him.

_ Natsu had been trying to shield him from the overwhelming pressure of seven dragon’s magic coalescing into one, but Gray had fought him for once, not wanting to be protected. Not wanting to be separated. They had tried that already, and he had almost lost the Dragon-slayer more times than he cared to admit, and almost by his own hand. He wasn’t going anywhere._

_Then something shifted._

_ No Natsu was shifting, the rainbow flames spreading up his arm until they were both engulfed in them, and Gray wasn’t sure which of them was crying out. The Dragon-slayer was no longer trying to force him out, neither of them able to focus on anything, but the sensation of Natsu’s body rippling under the force of the magic coursing through and around him. It had built. A painful pressure, of muscle and skin and bone, growing and shifting. Taking a new form but not quite holding it, leaving them both trapped in an in-between phase, neither of them able to pull free from the change or each other. Then something had splintered and torn in his, in their, in Natsu’s chest. Whatever protections Igneel had left behind unable to hold up beneath the weight of the transformation, and later the others who had been with Gray had told him that he’d screamed, magic – more magic than he could ever have contained had poured from him and into the link powering the Fairy Sphere._

_That moment had completed the spell._

_And changed Natsu._

_ Gray had felt the change locking into place, Natsu’s humanity a bright spark in the bond, but changed, different, and then they had been moving together towards Acnologia. Wings spread wide, and diamond-hard claws tearing through the crystal, tail lashing behind them as Natsu had bellowed out his pain and fury, and sheer determination to end this now before anything else could be lost._

Gray was pulled back to the present as Natsu leaned his head more heavily against his chest, almost enough to knock him off his feet, a low croon building in his throat. The Dragon was looking at him now. Eyes still the same olive that he had fallen in love with, but with vertical cat-like pupils peering at him knowingly, sorrow colouring them as Natsu nuzzled into him. “I’m…”

“If you say sorry then I am going to punch you,” Gray echoed the same threat that Natsu had used the time he’d tried to apologise for not stopping this from happening. The threat made Natsu laugh, a low chuckle that had smoke curling up from his nose.

“I wasn’t.” Now Natsu was pulling away, and Gray instinctively tried to cling onto him, afraid that the Dragon was about to take off. Unfortunately, his strength was no match for a dragon and Natsu pulled away easily enough, spreading his wings as he sat back on his hunches, towering over the Ice Mage. “I have something to show you, I think…” He sounded nervous, and so beautifully, wonderfully like the Natsu that Gray had fallen in love with, that Gray froze.

The air was heavy now, magic swirling around them and then Gray was inside the bond, just as he had been on the day that Natsu had shifted, but this time he was welcomed, Natsu seeming to curl around him and draw strength from his presence. Then it was alight with memories, fleeting images of their moments together… quiet mornings curled together, fist bumps and promises, kisses and gentle touches… a life lived in a second, and Gray’s heart was swelling and aching, and the plea came unbidden, drifting into the bond between them.

_Stay with me._

Natsu was shifting again, and Gray tensed, waiting for the pain. It didn’t come. Instead, it felt like they were being squeezed through a narrow space, pressed together so tightly that for a split second Gray wasn’t sure where he ended and Natsu began, the closeness everything that he had craved for months and he would have happily stayed like that. But the magic was swirling and changing now, teasing his skin as it swept towards Natsu and the Ice Mage couldn’t move or look away as the Dragon arched upwards, a bellow of challenge and determination almost deafening him, and then Natsu was alight. Not the bright, rainbow flames that had changed him before, but his own flames. Warm and familiar and then the Dragon was shrinking and changing, the fire becoming a vortex around him, that shrank along with him.

It seemed to take forever, but Gray knew it had been seconds at most, his heart pounding in his chest as the flames faded away as quickly as they had come, and his eyes widened as Natsu. His Natsu, his clothing tattered and torn, and his skin still glistening with scales in places, but human staggered forwards. Gray was moving even as the Dragon-slayer staggered, whatever he’d just done having clearly exhausted him. And he managed to reach Natsu just as his mate stumbled, catching him in his arms and lowering them both to the ground. Natsu fit perfectly again, just as he always had, and as his arms tightened around the Dragon-slayer, it felt as though he could breathe for the first time since that day. “What did you do….?”

“I wanted to come home.” There was a faint echo to Natsu’s voice, the deepness of his dragon form lingering, but the words were soft and filled with longing and a question. _Am I allowed to come home?_ For a moment, Gray couldn’t speak, his eyes burning as felt Natsu’s warmth in his arms, resting his chin against straggly pink hair that was in desperate need of a wash. He could feel the doubt seeping in, an uncertainty that spoke of long months of loneliness, reminding him of how uncertain they’d both been after their separation in the wake of Tartaros, and he pressed his lips to the top of Natsu’s head.

“You can always come home, no matter what form you’re in.” All the arguments he’d thought up the night before, the words he wanted to say were there, and maybe later he would share them, just to chase away those lingering doubts. For now, the sheer force of the words that had almost come out as a shout, the air cooling briefly as his magic reacted to his emotion seemed to be enough, because Natsu was clutching him now, fingers trembling.

“I can’t hold this for long…” It was a warning and an apology. And a gift, because Gray could see how much this transformation had taken out of him, feeling it through the bond and in the way the Dragon-slayer was slumped against him. How long had he been working on this? How long had he been planning on coming home? There were so many things that Gray wanted to ask, so many things that it sounded like he might now get the chance to ask, but that could wait. It could all wait, because Natsu was there, looking up at him, eyes still cat-like, changes that the Ice Mage had a feeling would never fade now. But that was okay too, because Natsu had come home, and…

“Then let's make the most of it,” Gray murmured, smiling as Natsu blinked up at him, feeling as though he might never stop smiling again as he carefully helped Natsu back to his feet. Natsu shifted, taking some more of his own weight, and Gray wasn’t sure whether it was just weariness or a desire to remain closer that stopped him pulling away completely. Uncomplaining either way as he wrapped an arm around his mate’s shoulder and holding him close. “Let’s go home.” It was barely thirty feet to the front door, but it felt as though they had travelled much further as he helped Natsu walk towards it, feeling the Dragon-slayer fighting to hold his current form, and realising that he hadn’t been kidding about not being able to hold it for long. 

It was enough, and he wasn’t sure which of them laughed first as they stepped through the door that Gray had left open in his hurry to get outside to Natsu, the noise a little too close to a sob as the moment hit them. They were home. It was their house. And Gray knew that it wasn’t going to be that easy, that Natsu was struggling to remain human, but they could deal with that now that he had come home. And it was Gray who moved first, shifting until he was in front of Natsu, supporting him still, but Natsu had rallied and was looking up at him, eyes suspiciously damp, but a soft grin spreading across his lips even as he leaned up to meet him halfway. The kiss marking the end of an era, and the start of another. But all too brief as the Dragon-slayer pulled back and looked around the house, and then back at Gray, eyes bright.

“I’m home.”


End file.
